We’re heading into the silly season, and for most of us, the Christmas season is incredibly busy, filled with family dinners, work parties, New Year’s Eve celebrations and summer BBQs. People want to look their best for these big occasions so hair and beauty salons typically enjoy a boom in bookings.
Ideally, you’re already developing your Christmas services: extra special treatments that are different yet complementary to your regular menu. It’s now the perfect time to start promoting your special offers to your local market!
I created these top tips to help you manage and make the most of your Christmas rush, so keep reading to learn how to create a Christmas season of success.
Make it special and sparkly
Deck the halls! Christmas gives you permission to go all-out. Get your clients excited for the season by adding some finishing festive touches to your salon. Don’t forget to treat your clients to something sweet: have Christmas candy and chocolate at reception.
Go the extra mile and offer a hot chocolate or spiced tea. It’s the best time to scream your head off with special offers. But instead of falling for the discounting trap, opt to add on a free service like a treatment or eyebrow wax.
Spoil your VIPs
This time of year is perfect for re-thinking your loyalty programme and spoiling your best clients. Reach out to them via an email newsletter or social media. Create and promote Christmas hair and beauty packages just for them. Don’t forget to champion the classic gift voucher as a quick and easy gift solution for their family and friends.
Tap into the magic of mail
Do you know how much money you’re leaving on the table if you never send a letter with offers to your clients? Do you remember the last time you received a real Christmas card? There’s something heart-warming about receiving a physical card in the mail. And this is exactly the feeling you should tap into.
Christmas greetings delivered directly to the letterbox puts a smile on anyone’s face – especially when it’s from a local small business like you might be. To make it even more personal add a handwritten individual note to each. Watch what happens!
Keep on texting and emailing
Text marketing isn’t new anymore. We’re all savvy to the fact that texts are much more likely to get read than emails. Make a point to introduce text marketing in your campaign. It’s easy to set up and your salon software does most of the work for you. It’s a super-effective way to market your salon, spa or clinic.
While we’re talking digital, when was the last time you emailed your clients? If you don’t practice email marketing, it’s time to get serious about it. You should be emailing your clients regularly with special offers and your helpful hair and beauty tips. Sharing your expertise shows your clients you care. Read the 10 key elements of successful email marketing for more information.
Learn from last year
Take a look at last year’s sales data. Your salon software makes this a super-easy task.
Ask yourself if you’ll need to hire a casual worker, someone to “tea and tidy” or extend your opening hours. Also, pay attention to your stock levels – you don’t want to run out of any product during the busiest time of year. Work as far ahead as possible. The more prepared you are, the more capacity you’ll have to push sales even further than last year.
Track and measure
That’s right: you must track and measure your marketing. Unless you track your marketing you don’t know which promotion is working at its best. Or which is not working at all!
Review your figures to know which campaigns have worked and are worth repeating, and which ones need tweaking or even trashing. You’ll save yourself tons of time and cash, while maximising your profitability. And by keeping that data, you’ll be setting yourself up for even better marketing outcomes next Christmas.
What about the New Year?
Don’t set your salon up for a New Year lull. Send a last-minute Christmas card with the goal to increase your January bookings. By sending them a week before Christmas, you can promote your New Year offers and thank your clients for their support throughout the year.
Even when things look crazy busy before Christmas, watch your rebooking with every single client and make it worthwhile for them to book in for January and February.
And finally, the most important part of your business – your team
Get your team together to celebrate the year’s milestones and encourage collaboration heading into the future. Offer your team a chance to blow off some steam, to connect as people rather than as workmates and to just celebrate the year and the awesomeness of each other. Ask for their input into what they’d like to do. Have a classy night out or treat your team to a fancy dinner where they can dress up.
What about a lunch-time event? Everyone’s a bit more relaxed and casual during the day and people will typically drink less alcohol over lunch. Remember: the type of party you host will help influence the behaviour of your team. Making sure that everyone gets home safely will make you an absolute stand-out boss in the eyes of your team.
Create your Christmas season of success
Over to you! Christmas comes but once a year. You’ll be kicking yourself if you get to January without having made the festive season the success season for your salon, clinic or spa. The opportunities are boundless – you just need to get planning and doing to make it all happen.
Kai Schnitzler is a Business Coach for the hair, beauty, salon and spa space at The ZING Project. For more wisdom email me at kai@zingcoach.com.au.
Learn more about marketing your salon, spa or clinic
For more tips from industry experts about marketing salons, spas and clinics, visit our marketing guide – a definitive guide for marketing your hair and beauty business.
Read next:
- Make this Christmas your most profitable yet
- 10 festive ways to wow your clients this Christmas
- 5 marketing tips to kickstart your Christmas campaign
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on 6 November 2018 and has been updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
